Spring stand for dobby looms



March 1, 1932. A. E. BRICKMAN 1,847,748

SPRING STAND FOR DOBBY LOOMS Filed Sept. 12, 1929 Patented Mar. 1, 1932 i PATENT OFFICE ALLEN BRICKMAN, OF WORCESTER, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR TO CROMPTON KNOWLES LOOM' FORKS, MASSACHUSETTS srnme STAND r02. BOBBY Looms:

Application filed. September 12, 1929. Serial No. 392,217.

- T his invention relates to improvements in the stands which hold the pull-down springs in dobby looms and it is the general object of the invention to provide a very simple device of'this type which can be extended readily to provide for an increased number of harnesses in the loom.

Indobby looms the harnesses are lifted positively by means of the dobby kniyesact; ing through hooks and levers, but are lowered by means of springs connected to the under side of the harnesses and held to a fixed structure mounted either on the floor or on the lower part of the loom frame. it isdesirable to be able to vary the number of harnesses in use and it is a further object of my invention to provide a spring stand made up of a plurality of similar elements or units which can be quickly applied to a support and retainer.

It is afurther object of my present invention to provide a plurality of substantially identical elements which are reversible about their axes, each having a spring-holding hook which is to one side of the center of the ele'-' ment so that adjacent members will hold their springs out of alignment to permit ready replacement or removal.

t is another object of my invention to provide a built up spring stand having hook and spacer members, arranged preferably in alternation, the spacers by their. width determining the distance, between the hooks and therefore permitting the useof harness frames of varying thicknesses.

With these and other objects in view which will appear as the description proceeds, my invention resides in the combination and arrangementof parts hereinafter described and set forth in the claims. 4

In the accompanying drawings, wher in :a convenient embodiment of my invention is set forth,

Fig. 1 is a frontelevation of the lower portion of a loom having my invention applied thereto, 1

Fig. 2 is a view looking inthe directionof arrow 2, Fig. 1 on an enlarged scale,

. Fig. 3 isavertical'sectiononlinej33 of which may be substantially T-s-haped in sec- Fig. 4 is a top plan view looking down in the direction of arrow 4, Fig. 3',

Fig. 5 is a detailed vertical section on line 55 of Fig. 1, and V p Fig. 6 is a frontelevationof one of the ele- V ments enteringinto my improved form of spring stand.

Referring to Fig. 1, I have shown a pair of loomsides 10 and 11 which are connected together at their lower portions by cross girts 12 and 13 which are located, respectively, at the front andback of the'loom. As shown in Fig. 5 said cross girts may support Lshaped brackets with horizontal. portions 14. The harnessframes 15 are of the usual form and along. their under edges are provided with hooks 16 which are connected to the upper ends of the pull-down springs 17. The matter thus far described is of. common construc tion and it is to be understood that positively actuated mechanism not shown, such as a .dobby, lift the frames 15 against the action of the springs 17 in order to form the upper plane of the shed, and the springs act to lower the other harnesses to form the lower plane of the shed;

In carrying my invention into effect. I secure to the under sides of the portions 14: a pair of longitudinally extending supports 20 tion as shown in Fig. 3, having a Vertical rib 21 to stiffen the support and having a horizontal portion 22 for a'purpose to be described. Inasmuchas bothsupports and the spring stand held thereby are identical I will describe butone. V

A clamp 23' extends across the horizontal portion 22 of the support andis provided with a notch 24 at each side thereof to receive theadjacent corner of the horizontal portion22. Each end of the'clamp has extendingve-rtically therethrough' a bolt 25 the upper end ofwhich is held in position by means of a'nut26 and the lower end of which is provided with abutton head 27 of sufficient diameter to extend under a portion of the hori- -zontal;part 22. The bolts 25, efllectively'secure the clamp 23 rigidly to the support. I Extending through the clamp is a retain- 0F WORCESTER, MASSACHUSETTS, A CORPORATION 'OF i it engages the washer.

one side of the clamp to limit movement of the bolt to the right as shown in Fig. 2. There is strung along said retainer bolt a series of washers 32 and spring hook members 33 of the form shown particularly in Fig. 6. The hooked members are spaced apart a. distance which is determined by the length of the washers or spacing elements 32 measured in a direction transverse of the ing a slot'36 opening horizontally toward the center of the member to receive a part of the section 22 of the T-shaped support. A spring holding hook 37 defining a recess 38 with the main body of the member lies to one side of the bore 34, or'centerof the member.

As shown particularly in Figs. 2 and 4 the horizontal section 22 of the support is provided with a. pair of notches 39 and 4:0 which enter opposite edges of the portion 22 and are in substantial alignment, said notches being of sufficient depth to receive the hooks 35.

In assembling the stand the rod will be inserted through the clamp and one of the washers placed adjacent the clamp on the side opposite the head 31. One ofthevmembers 33 is then applied to the support by having the hooks 35 pass through the notches 39 and 40, the member being slid along the support so that the opposite edges thereof enter the slots 36. As, the member slides along the support the rod 30 will enter the bore 3%: of the member being moved until Another washer is then slipped over the rod 30 and a second hook member is then applied in the same way as was the first one, with the exception that the hook 37 is pointed in the opposite direction, this result being accomplished by reversing the second member 33 before it is applied to the support. The third member is put on in exactly the same way as was the first and a fourth in the same waythat the second was applied, ete, until a desired number of hook members are in place, alternate hooks; 3? pointing in one direction and the intervening hooks pointing in the opposite direction. V7 hen the assembly is completed anut; l-l'nia'y be threaded on the end of the retaining bolt 30 to hold the several members sitionQ j The sprmgs and their inter'v'ening'washers tightly in po- 17 then have theirllower ends connected to the hook members, alternate springs lying on the same side of the rod 30 and the intermediate springs lying on the opposite sides thereof. In this way it is possible to disconnect any spring from its hook member without interference on the part of the springs connected to the adjacent members.

In operation, the harness frames are raised and lowered in a sequence determined by the pattern mechanism and as the harness frames are raised the springs connected to the lower portions thereof are placed under tension which is resisted by the hooks 35 of the associated member. In this way the relatively heavy support 20 takes the strain of the springs and the retaining rod 30 is subjected merely to enough strain to hold the various parts of the stand in properly spaced relation. The assembled unit may be moved as a whole along the support 20 by looseningthe nuts 26 and moving the clamp to the desired position, after which tightening of said nuts will secure the spring hold in the desired position.

From the foregoing it will be seen that I haveprovided a simple form of spring holder which is built up of a plurality of simple elements each having a hook disposed to one side of the retaining bolt so that there are in efiect two rows of spring hooks 37 extending substantially parallel to the support 20, although there is but one type of element used. Furthermore, t- 1e number of units and therefore springs may be changed readily and also the holder as a whole may be moved along the support by properly manipulating the nuts 26 which hold theclamp in position Also, separate spacers by their width deter mine the distance between the hooks and in this way afford means for accommodating harness frames of different thicknesses.

Having thus described my invention it will be seen that changes and modifications may be made therein by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention and I do not wish to be limited to the details herein disclosed, but what I claim is: I

1. In a spring stand for a loom having harness frames and pull-down springs connected thereto, a longitudinal support extending transversely of the harness frames, and a plurality of substantially similar sep arate hook members mounted on said support, each member being removable from the support independently'of the other members and having a spring hook which lies to one side of the center of the longitudinal support,ralternate members having their books on the same side of the center of the support and the intervening members having their hooks on the opposite side of the center of the support, said hooks'to hold-the lower ends of the pull-down springs, and removable spaced elements to separate adjacent hook members.

2. In a spring stand for a loom having harness framesand pull-down springs connected thereto, a support the longitudinal axis of which is transverse of the harness frames, a plurality of members each having a spring hook held to the support, each member having a pair of slots to receive portions of the support, the" spring engaging hooks lying to one side of the longitudinal center of the support, certain of the hooks lying to one side and certain of the hooks lying to the other side of the longitudinal center'of the support to provide tworows of spring hooks which are spaced from each other in a direction transversely of the support. 7 1 3. In a spring stand for a loom having harness frames and pull-down springs con- 'nected thereto, a support extending under the harness frames, and a plurality of substan tially similar separate hook members, slidable along the support and held against upward movement relatively to the support, each member being removable from the support independently of the other members and having a spring engaging hook which lies to one side of the longitudinal center ofthe support, each pair of members being so disposed so that their hooks are on the opposite sides of the longitudinal center of the sup;- port.

4:. In a spring stand for a loom having harness frames and pull-down springs connected thereto, a support extending under the harness frames, a plurality of substantiallyosimilar hook members slidable along the support and held against upward movement relatively to the support, each memher having a spring engaging hook which lies to one side of the longitudinal center of the support, each pair of members being so disposed so that their hooks are on the opposite sides of the longitudinal center of the support, and a retaining rod extending through all of said members to hold the same in position. v

5. In a spring stand for a loom having 1 ment relatively thereto, each member having a spring engaging hook which lies to one side of the longitudmal center of the support, each pair of members being so disposed so that their springs are on the opposite sides of the longitudinal center of the sup-,

port, a retaining rod extending through all of said members to hold the same in position, and spacing collars on the rod to separate adjacent hook members.

6. In a spring stand for a loom having to the'spring hooks. I p 10. A spring holding member for whom 17 having asupport with. parallel: opposite certain of said members being so disposed that their hooks are on one slde and other members so disposed that their hooks are on the opposite sideof the longitudinal center of the support, a retaining rod extending through allof said members to hold the same in position, and a clamp carrying the rod and held to the support in any one of a plurality of positions along the length thereof'to position the hook members and rod. 1

7. In a spring stand for a loom having harness frames and pull-down springsconnected thereto, a support having a pair of notches, a plurality of fiat hook members each having apair of retaining-hooks on their under sides which extend through the notches but engage the support when moved away from the notches to prevent upward movement of the members, each member having provision for holdingthe lower end of a spring.

8. Ina spring stand for a loom having harness frames and pull-down springs connected thereto, a support having opposite edges and a pair of notches, one notch to enter each edge of the support, a plurality of fiat hook members each having a pair of retaining hooks on their under sides to extend through the notches but engage the support when moved away from the notches to prevent upward movement of the members, and a spring hook formed on each mem ber to one side of the longitudinal center of the support, certain of said spring hooks lying on one side and others lying on the opposite side of the longitudinal center of the support, the springs being attached to the spring hooks.

9. In a spring'stand for a loom having harness frames and pull-down springs connected thereto, a support having opposite edges and a pair of aligning notches, one

notch to enter each edge of the support, a plurality of flat hook members each having a pair of rotating books on their under sides to extend through the notches but engage the a support when moved away from the notches to prevent upward movement of the'mem- -bers, -and a spring retaining hook on each member which is nearer oneend of the member than'the other end, said members being disposed in two different relations with respect to the support; so thatthe-hooks form two spaced rows, the springs being attached lso notched edges, said member having a pair of similar support engaging hooks on the 7 notched edges and a guide rod, said member havin a aair of similar suaaort en a in a a z: a

hooks on the under side thereof to pass through the notches and engage the sup port when the member is moved along the support away from the notches, and a spring hook on the member located to one side of a point midway etween thesupport engaging hooks, the member having a hole interme- .diate the support engaging hooks to receive the rod.

12. In a spring stand for a loom, a fixed support having two pairs of holding surfaces, a plurality of separate spring engaging members each'having a pair of spaced engaging surfaces, a hook oneach member, the latter being reversible relatively tothe support and about a line transverse of the holding surfaces to assume two positions relatively to the support, one engaging surface to engage. one of the holding surfaces of a pair and the other engaging surface to engage the other holding surface of the same pair in whichever of said positions the member is disposed relatively to the support, the hook when constrained to move toward the line of reversal being resisted in such movement by interengagement of the engaging surfaces and one of the pair of holding surfaces, the hook lying to one side of the line ofreversal to assume either of two positions relatively thereto.

'13. A spring'holding hook member for a loom harness having a fixed support, said member formed of flat sheet metal with substantially parallel sides, retaining hooks on the member to engage the support and hold the member thereto, said retaining hook having support receiving notches substantially facing each other by which the member is held to the support, and a spring engaging hook forming part of the member, the strains to which the hooks are subjected during use being substantially parallel to the sides thereof, and the width of the hooks in the direction in which they are strained being independent of the thickness of the member.

harness frames of different widths may used.

15. In .a spring stand for a loom having harness frames and pull down springs connected thereto, a support extending transversely of the harness frames, a pluralit Y of separate substantially similar hook mem ers mountedfor slidable movement on the support, each of the members having a book which lies to one side of the center of the su port, alternate members having their hoo s on the same side of the center of the support and the intervening members having their hooks on opposite sides of the center of the support, spacing elements extending transversely of the harness frame to separate adjacent hook members, said elements being mounted so that adjacent hook members are held in alignment with their corresponding frames by the elements. I

16. In a loom having harness frames and springs connected thereto, a spring stand extending transversely of the harness frames and comprising a support and a plurality of hook members and spacer members arranged in alternation relative thereto, said 'hookmembers engaging said support and the distance between the hook members being dependent upon the length of the spacermembers in a direction transverse of the harness frames, each hook member being separately disengageable and removable from said support without removal of any other hook member therefrom.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto affixed my signature.

ALLEN E. BRICKMAN.

1 1. In a spring stand for 'looms having of separate 'hookinembers on the support to hold the lower ends .of the springs, each member being removable from thesuppOrt'inde pendently of the other, and spacing elements to separate adjacent-hook members, whereby. 

